Seychelles inaugurates Croatia consulate, opening door to Zagreb University's medical programme

Seychelles inaugurated a new consulate in Croatia, expanding the island nation's limited diplomatic footprint overseas. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Croatia's Zagreb University is another option for Seychellois students looking to study medicine or hospital administration after talks between Seychelles' Foreign Affairs Minister, his Croatian counterpart and the University's medicine faculty vice-dean.

The talks come as Seychelles inaugurated a new consulate in Croatia, expanding the island nation's limited diplomatic footprint overseas.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, held these talks early this week in a business lunch with Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, the vice-dean for International Relations and head of medical studies in English at the School of Medicine, Davor Jezek.

According to the Seychelles Foreign Affairs Department, the three officials agreed that "Zagreb University could be the delivery mechanism of greater bilateral cooperation between Seychelles and Croatia in the health sector."

"Minister Radegonde and Professor Jezek agreed that the School of Medicine of the University of Zagreb offered ideal conditions for future Seychellois health practitioners," said the Department.

Opening its doors in 1669, the University of Zagreb, in the capital city of Croatia, is the oldest and biggest university in South-Eastern Europe. It has 29 faculties and three art academies and offers education and research and in all scientific fields and a broad spectrum of courses at all study levels - from undergraduate to postgraduate.

The School of Medicine runs programmes in English which relieves students from having to learn a new language. It is linked to a network of 14 general and specialised hospitals throughout Zagreb. The University of Zagreb also has a School of Public Health that could provide the right training for the two future hospital administrators needed to run the two main public hospitals in Seychelles.

Training for Seychellois doctors, nurses and hospital administrators at the University of Zagreb can be made possible through scholarships provided by the Croatian government within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Croatia and Seychelles.

During his visit to Croatia, Radegonde and the Secretary of State for Political Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, Frano Matusic, inaugurated Seychelles' Consulate in Zagreb.

Radegonde said that the opening of the consulate in Zagreb forms part of the strategy of the government of Seychelles to "enhance the visibility of Seychelles in the world and to promote even closer and stronger cooperation between friendly countries".

"This new consulate will be responsible for providing consular services to all Seychelles nationals over the whole territory of the Republic of Croatia as well as tasked with promoting Seychelles' interests in various fields of common interest such as tourism, investment, trade, education, sport among others," he said.

On her side, the Honorary Consul of Seychelles in Croatia, Sonja Udovicic, said that this inauguration represented a special moment for her and her family who over the last decade has developed very close ties to Seychelles.

"This inauguration which marks the formal representation of Seychelles in Croatia will facilitate people-to-people contacts and foster a relationship between Seychelles and Croatia," she added, pledging her full support to promote a better relationship between Croatia and Seychelles.

The visit of Radegonde to Croatia was the last leg of his tour of Central Europe which covered Hungary where he met with Seychellois students and attending the Austria World Summit with President Wavel Ramkalawan.